Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

The Duck Stamp Turns 80

Eighty years ago – Aug. 22, 1934 – the first duck stamp was sold. Since then, thanks mostly to hunters, the stamps have generated more than $800 million and helped secure over 6 million acres of wetland habitat in the U.S.

The Boone and Crockett Club marks that day as a major milestone in the North American conservation movement, and says the 80th anniversary is worth remembering.

“Duck stamps were one of the key funding mechanisms that brought many waterfowl species from vanishing to flourishing. Other bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species benefitted, too,” said the Club’s Keith Balfourd. “This should be a point of pride for all hunters. It certainly is for Boone and Crockett, whose members played an important part in the history of North American waterfowl, including the duck stamp.”

Historical facts: Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Defining Ethics in Long-Range Shooting

By Glen Wunderlich

When it comes to long-range shooting relative to hunting, I suspect most Michiganders would consider 200 yards a reasonable limit.  If one hunts in the southern portion of the lower peninsula – known as the shotgun zone or limited firearm deer zone – 150 yards would fit the description for most sportsmen.  In Western states the maximum ethical range is much farther.  So, the issue becomes how far is too far?

Just as modern motor vehicles are capable of speeds well beyond any legal limit, most firearms will outshoot the operators’ potential, as well.  As ammunition, optics, firearms and related gear continue to be improved,  it’s only natural to push the limits.  While doing so can be challenging at the practice range, it’s entirely another matter afield.

“It’s not about distance; it’s about intent,” said Bill Demmer, Boone and Crocket Club president.

He explained, “Hunters have varying degrees of marksmanship skills and capabilities. Some are steady only out to 100 yards. Others are very efficient at much longer distances. All kinds of field conditions also factor into what is or isn’t an ethical shot. So, within reasonable sideboards, it’s impossible to use distance as a measurement of fair chase.”

The Club urges all hunters to think carefully of the consequences of long-range shooting, whether hunting with a rifle, bow, muzzleloader, crossbow, or handgun, and not confuse the purposes and intent of long-range shooting with fair chase hunting.

Although getting too close to game can be problematic, any sportsman should define his own personal limits and doing so comes from practice.

There’s no excuse for not understanding terminal ballistics or the energy needed to humanely kill big game animals.  It’s all out there with every major ammunition manufacturer providing free ballistic programs online.  Obviously, a bullet that becomes anemic downrange must be ruled out in fairness to the quarry.   But, how else can a sportsman determine limitations?

First off, nobody’s perfect, but with myriad variables there’s a simple barometer for any hunter to follow:  the 9 out of 10 rule.  Whatever the chosen firearm or bow, a shooter must be able to hit the target 9 out of 10 times.  And, “the target” should be somewhat smaller than the kill zone of the game being pursued, thus allowing a larger margin for error.

While it makes for challenging competition at the practice range, a sportsman translates the limiting results afield, and therefore, defines his personal ethical standards.

Ammunition, Hunting, Wildlife

State-owned surplus land in Cheboygan County to be offered

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will offer two parcels of land in Cheboygan County for sale by live public auction Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014 in Rogers City, Michigan. The auction will begin at noon at the Rogers City High School gymnasium, 1033 W. Huron Ave.

Registration will begin at 11 a.m. Bidders may pre-register at www.tax-sale.info. The site also includes information about the live auction, as well as details about the properties. Click on “DNR Auction Burt Lake Waterfront” for minimum bid amount, photos, map, and conditions of sale.  Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Plan Ahead for Food Plot Success

The month of August can be a very busy month for wildlife management chores. Dove season is right around the corner as well as archery season for deer. Formulating a plan this time of year on what, when, and where you are going to plant cool season plots can save time and frustration. Waiting until the very last minute and scrambling to find seed, equipment or fertilizer can be a major headache.

A great task for this time of year is to go ahead and do an equipment check and see if any repairs are in order before planting season. Pull your tractor under a shade tree and make sure all fluids, belts, hoses, and tires are up to snuff and ready for use. Bush-hog blades can be checked for sharpness, and the gear box for the proper amount of fluid. Discs may have bearings or blades that need to be replaced, this is also a good time to grease all bearing fittings. Fertilizer and seed spreaders are always in need of some repair it seems. Give your spreader a good run through and see if there are any parts that need repair or replacement. These all seem like common sense farm chores, but doing them before planting season rolls around can help fall planting go much more smoothly by avoiding break downs in the field that cost you valuable time. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Maine Bear Hunting Under Attack!

firstforhuntersblackbearheadonThe Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is trying to put an end to Maine’s bear hunting season on the November 4, 2014 ballot. Through a statewide ballot petition, the HSUS is attempting to ban the most common forms of bear hunting in Maine, including hounding, baiting, and trapping.

However Maine’s hunting community, and hunters throughout New England, are not standing idly by. Maine’s annual bear hunting season is about to begin and sportsmen all over the state and throughout the country need to guarantee 2014 isn’t Maine’s last bear season.

SCI’s membership in Maine along with the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine, the Maine Professional Guides Association and other partners are aggressively fighting a campaign against the HSUS and their anti-hunting friends. With the November 4th election less than 90 days away your support is needed now. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

One Last Step To Protect Conservation In Michigan: Your Help Is Needed TODAY

CPWMSCI

Contact Your State Representative TODAY

Lansing, MI – On Wednesday, August 27th the Michigan State House of Representatives will take the final step to pass a citizen-initiated law called the Scientific Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act (SFWCA).  Safari Club International (SCI) and all hunters support SFWCA – And today you need to pick up the phone to call your State Representative.  Ask for their support on August 27th for SFWCA.  Make sure your representative is calling their fellow legislators asking for their support as well.

Call 517-373-0135 and ask to speak with your Representative today.

Or you can find your own personal Representative online

To find your Representative click: Michigan House of Representatives or visit http://house.michigan.gov/mhrpublic/ Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Outfoxed on Michigan Wolves

This from www.humanewatch.org

Wolfstalk

There’s been a fight in many states over how to manage the resurgent wolf populations. The gray wolf, which was once hunted to near extinction, has through the past few decades made a substantial recovery and is no longer endangered in certain areas of the US. That has led some states to propose different management plans, because wolves can, for example, kill animals on ranches.

Michigan planned to have a limited wolf hunting season to help manage the population of the predator. But this was reflexively opposed by HSUS, an organization that is against hunting–its CEO has even spoken against hunting for food. What’s happened since has been a bit of gamesmanship.

Essentially, the Michigan legislature allowed for the hunting of wolves (there are estimated to be 600 in the Upper Peninsula) after the delisting of the animals. HSUS tried to start a ballot measure to overturn this law. Then, the legislature passed a second law to neutralize this HSUS initiative. HSUS then started a second initiative to overturn this law.

Then, hunting and conservation advocates started their own initiative, proposing a law that would neutralize the second HSUS ballot measure. They turned in about 300,000 signatures last month, and the initiative was sent to the legislature for consideration. (The legislature has 40 days to either approve the bill or put it on the ballot.) Yesterday, the Michigan Senate approved the measure, and the House is expected to do so within two weeks.
In other words, HSUS’s two initiative drives will be pointless. HSUS will have been outmaneuvered. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

MI Deer Private Land Assistance Network grant application period opens

The Department of Natural Resources yesterday announced that the application period for the Deer Private Land Assistance Network (Deer PLAN) – a cooperative grant program designed to support private-land deer habitat improvement projects in the northern Lower Peninsula – is now open.

“There are three main goals applicants should strive to meet,” said DNR wildlife biologist Brian Piccolo. “The projects should improve deer habitat for hunters, help reduce crop damage and the risk of TB on farms, and build partnerships between the DNR and sportsmen.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Osprey chicks outfitted with satellite backpacks

Nearly absent from much of the state due to the effects of DDT and other pesticides and habitat loss, ospreys continue to rebound in Michigan. In southern Michigan, monitoring efforts are tracking the revitalization of this species.

 

osprey backpackThis year, six osprey chicks from area nests were outfitted with “backpack” satellite and GSM telemetry units. These units – funded by grants from DTE Energy, Huron Valley Audubon, photographer Lou Waldock, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and American Tower Corporation – will help scientists track the young birds’ daily movements and seasonal migration patterns.

 

In 2013, three osprey chicks were given GPS backpacks in southeast Michigan. One chick banded near Estral Beach migrated to Cuba. A chick from Kensington Metropark ventured to Colombia, and one from Pinckney found good fishing sites on a golf course in Miami.

 

Unfortunately, all three chicks with backpacks perished in 2013. Approximately 60 percent of the osprey chicks hatched each year do not make it to their second birthday. Factors that commonly cause mortality in young chicks include predation by great horned owls, collisions with buildings and other structures, weather, and illegal shooting of birds in Central and South America.

 

“We are very excited to have this opportunity to place GPS units on several ospreys this year,” said Julie Oakes, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist. “This will provide the DNR with not only information on what migration routes the birds take, but also insight into what perils they must endure on their migration.” Read more

Wildlife

Michigan Senate Passes Citizen Initiative for Scientific Wildlife Conservation

 

 

Over 297,000 Michigan voters signed petitions to base wildlife decisions on sound science.

 

LANSING—Today the Michigan Senate passed the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, a citizen initiative brought to the Legislature by the signatures of almost 300,000 registered Michigan voters led by the Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping organizations.

“This is a significant step that recognizes the efforts of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters to ensure that sound science is the deciding factor in fish and wildlife conservation decisions,” said Matt Evans, legislative affairs manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “Today, the Senate listened to the will of almost 300,000 of their constituents who exercised their constitutional right to propose legislation to their democratically-elected representatives.”

 

On July 24, The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified over 297,000 signatures of registered Michigan voters to place the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act before the Legislature. The act would share the authority for naming game species between the Legislature and the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which is require to use sound science in its game decisions. The act also grants the NRC the authority to issue fisheries order, under the same sound science mandate, protects those fisheries with a $1 million rapid response fund for aquatic invasive species, and preserves free hunting and fishing licenses for active military members.

 

The act also defeats two referendums sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, which is seeking to prevent a regulated hunting season on wolves in certain areas of the Upper Peninsula with high rates of livestock and pet depredation. In the past few weeks, five dogs have been killed by wolves in the Upper Peninsula. The Humane Society of the United States, which recently had its charity rating stripped by Charity Navigator, is also sponsoring anti-hunting initiatives in Maine and at the federal level.

 

The Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act now heads to the Michigan House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last summer on a bipartisan basis.

 

Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management is a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping groups and individuals including the Michigan chapters of Safari Club International, the Michigan Bear Hunters Association, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association, the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance, U.P. Whitetails, Inc., the U.P. Bear Houndsmen, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The act has also received the endorsement of the National Wildlife Federation, the Michigan Salmon and Steelheader Fishermen’s Association, the Lake St. Clair Walleye Association, the Lake St. Clair chapter of Muskies, Inc., and numerous local conservation groups throughout Michigan.

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife
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